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Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Boden...WTF?

So I’m browsing through Facebook and see a
plaintive cry from the lovely Fiona.

Nice brogues...

‘What's going on?’ she asked. ‘I usually throw
the Boden catalogue straight into recycling but in today's there are at least
20 things am salivating over. Has Boden got better, or... have I 'gone Boden'?

And I thought, yeah, good point well made. In fact, I said, 'Yeah me too. WTF?' Cos I’ve been feeling exactly the same. I even stuck a Boden picture on Pinterest the
other day with a rather pathetic note saying, ‘I find myself craving a dress
and coloured tights. Why?’

Since I don’t go shopping, I do actually cast
an eye over the catalogues that find their way to my door. Though, it
has to be said, the catalogue people are obviously cutting back. I haven’t seen a Toast catalogue in a very
long time, so they have clearly given me up as a lost cause. Or that weird
Peruvian one. And, thank heavens, the
tacky silver jewelry people have sidled off too. But good old Boden stays faithful, despite my
not having bought anything since James got too big for cute t-shirt and
camouflage shorts (so, yeah, we’re talking seven years or so). And even then I used to wait for the sale.

Anyhow. Said catalogues (the game survivors or
those who can’t be arsed to figure out who’s actually still ordering their stuff)
go to the loo where they are perused in lieu of magazines (another cutback).
And usually I play the game of ‘Okay so which thing on this page would you wear
if you Absolutely Had To Pick One Thing’ (at this point, let me point out that
I don’t get very nice catalogues in the main – we’re talking Cotton Traders and
the ilk). This has taken over from the
old pastime of ‘which house would you buy?’ which I used to play when my pal
passed on her old copies of Country Life. I would add that I don’t spend a lot
of time on this… Unlike the males in
this house who spend…HOURS on the bog. Aside: why DO men do that? Are they all
constipated? Just wondering. J

But Boden. Hmm. Yeah. They’ve suddenly upped their game. A lot. As Fiona put it rather well: ‘Yes – the coats, the little sixties-style
dresses, the tweedy A-line skirts, sweaters and tops…want it ALL! Oh – and the
boots.’ And then she mused, ‘Perhaps
this improvement has been gradual, and I’ve missed the interim stages? There
are none of the hideous mumsie dresses in terrible prints, or the ‘fun’ skirts.’

Oh hell yes, the ‘fun skirts’. I used to spot a fair few of those at the
school gate, along with the ‘witty’ cardigans.
And let me now just offer a swift prayer to the god of bad parenting for
the TOTAL BLISS of no longer having to do the school gate thing.

And I used to think, ‘Jesus, if I ever EVER buy
a fun skirt from Boden, just shoot me.’
But now? Nice things
actually. Things that, if I had an
income, I might actually buy. Whether I’d
wear them, of course, is another matter.
J

16 comments:

Would just like to inform you, that I, despite being a male, am in & out of the toilet in a flash. This could quite possibly be due to the fact that I hate reading advertising brochures etc (which have also taken the place of magazines in the little room here in rural France. Next cost cutting measure will be to use them more... 'directly' whilst in there).

I also play that catalogue game. I had to google fun skirts as I'd never heard of them. I don't get Boden catalogues but I have to say that the Ikea catalogue has deteriorated over the past few years. It used to be like the Ideal Home Magazine with loads of room settings, now it's just a directory of homeware.

Spooky, I nearly ordered those socks the other day. Had a15% discount voucher but decided to go 100% discount, better for that poor account of mine. While I was filling my shopping basket I realised they have some really nice stuff these days!

I've not bought from them for some time, since my first marriage broke down and I had to resort to slightly more economical clothing! I really thought their new stuff this season looked much more funky and current and I too have list of what I like, especially since they finally have included petite sizes

The Boden catalogue occasionally shows up amid the various sections of my Sunday home delivery of The New York Times. I've never ordered anything thing but am usually curious to see what's on offer. In a recent Boden, I noticed the photo location was E. Pellicci, a London restaurant I've visited.

Jane...did you get my email about Cloud Atlas? Sent a while back...might have looked like spam.

Funnily enough I am in complete agreement about Boden lately and I spent half the morning deciding whether I dare order a tunic from Boden (and a denim shirt - don't tell anyone). Will have to cut down on food now :-) Their cotton pull-ons they used to do are just fantastic, they are so well made and wash so well. I hope they bring those back.

Trust me to leave the country when Boden up their game. Having had to send back a hideous cardigan just before I went two weeks ago, I can't believe it. The quality has been terrible in the last year or so. In this part of the world, Boden sponsors the local point-to-point and Johnny, wearing comedy tweed plus-fours, brays for all he's worth. So no free Boden coming my way, that's for sure!

Hi Maddie, Sorry you don’t like our stuff- the hideous cardigan and the bad quality especially. We’ll continue to try harder. And I’ve never worn plus 4s to a point to point. I went this year in some jeans. All best Johnnie Boden.

This, from me:Hi Johnny

They looked like tweed plus fours to me - this was a couple of years ago, mind. But fair play, must have left my specs at home.

Glad to hear you're improving the quality. I've had some great Boden stuff but stopped buying Boden for some time because the quality dropped off. And the cardigan - sadly, it wasn't pretty - the colour was different from the brochure.